An ultraviolet treatment method is provided for a metal oxide electrode. A metal oxide electrode is exposed to an ultraviolet (UV) light source in a humid environment. The metal oxide electrode is then treated with a moiety having at least one anchor group, where the anchor group is a chemical group capable of promoting communication between the moiety and the metal oxide electrode. As a result, the moiety is bound to the metal oxide electrode. In one aspect the metal oxide electrode is treated with a photoactive moiety. Exposing the metal oxide electrode to the UV light source in the humid environment induces surface defects in the metal oxide electrode in the form of oxygen vacancies. In response to the humidity, atmospheric water competes favorably with oxygen for dissociative adsorption on the metal oxide electrode surface, and hydroxylation of the metal oxide electrode surface is induced.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An ultraviolet treatment method for a metal oxide electrode, the method comprising: providing a metal oxide electrode; supplying a humid environment; in the humid environment, exposing the metal oxide electrode surface to an ultraviolet (UV) light source; subsequent to exposing the metal oxide electrode to the UV light source in the humid environment, treating the metal oxide electrode with a photosensitizer dye having at least one anchor group, where the anchor group is a chemical group capable of promoting communication between the photosensitizer dye and the metal oxide electrode; and, binding the photosensitizer dye to a surface of the metal oxide electrode via the anchor group.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: subsequent to binding the photosensitizer dye to the metal oxide electrode, exposing the photosensitizer dye to light; and, initiating a photoexcited state in the photosensitizer dye from which a process occurs selected from a group consisting of electron injection, electron transfer, multi-electron transfer, energy-transfer, oxidation, reduction, free radical generation, complex formation, complex dissociation, ligand exchange, conformational change, isomerization, generation of subsequent excited-states, modes of deactivation for an excited-state of the photosensitizer dye and combinations of the above-listed processes.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein exposing the metal oxide electrode to the UV light source in the humid environment includes inducing hydroxylation of the metal oxide electrode surface; and, wherein binding the photosensitizer dye to the surface of the metal oxide electrode includes binding at least one anchor group of the photosensitizer dye to a hydroxyl group on the surface of the metal oxide electrode.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein inducing hydroxylation on the surface of the metal oxide electrode in response to the UV light source and humid environment includes generating a larger population of hydroxyl groups on the surface of the metal oxide electrode relative to a control sample not exposed to the UV light source and humid environment.
5. The method of claim 3 further comprising: generating an interaction between the metal oxide electrode surface and the photosensitizer dye in response to a binding between an anchor group of the photosensitizer dye and hydroxyl groups on the surface of the metal oxide electrode.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein supplying the humid environment includes supplying an environment with a humidity level of at least 30%.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein providing the metal oxide electrode includes providing a metal oxide electrode selected from a group consisting of metal and mixed-metal oxides of titanium, silicon, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, scandium, yttrium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, rhenium, iron, ruthenium, osmium, cobalt, rhodium, iridium, nickel, palladium, platinum, copper, zinc, cadmium, mercury, aluminum, gallium, indium, germanium, tin, lead, antimony, and bismuth.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein providing the metal oxide electrode includes providing a metal oxide electrode with a morphology selected from a group consisting of amorphous, crystalline, and representative of both amorphous and crystalline.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein providing the metal oxide electrode includes providing a metal oxide electrode with an architecture selected from a group consisting of planar, particles, nanoparticles, wires, nanowires, tubes, nanotubes, cones, nanocones, rods, nanorods, pillars, nanopillars, mesoporous, geometric shapes in two-dimensional (2D) and 3D arrays, and combinations thereof.
10. The method of claim 7 wherein providing the metal oxide electrode includes providing a metal oxide electrode blended with a conducting species selected from a group consisting of carbon, grapliene, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and combinations thereof.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein treating the metal oxide electrode with the photosensitizes includes treating with a photosensitizer dye selected from a group consisting of organic, inorganic, metallic, and combinations thereof including monomers, oligomers, polymers, macromolecular complexes, quantum dots, and inorganic/metallic nanoparticles.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein treating the metal oxide electrode with the photosensitizer dye includes treating with a photosensitizer dye combined with a separate non-photoactive material; the method further comprising: subsequent to binding the photosensitizer dye to the metal oxide electrode, exposing the photosensitizer dye to light; and, in response to absorbing the light, initiating a photoexcited state in the photosensitizer dye in the presence of the non-photoactive material.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein exposing the metal oxide electrode to the UV light source includes exposing the metal oxide electrode to a UV light source with a wavelength in a range between 350 and 385 nanometers (nm).
14. The method of claim 1 wherein treating the metal oxide electrode with the photosensitizer dye includes simultaneously treating the metal oxide electrode with a plurality of photosensitizer dyes.
15. The method of claim 1 wherein treating the metal oxide electrode with the photosensitizer dye includes sequentially treating the metal oxide electrode with a plurality of photosensitizer dyes.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein treating the metal oxide electrode with the photosensitizer dye having at least one anchor group includes an anchor group selected from a collection consisting of carboxylic acids, carboxylate salts, phosphonic acids, phosphonate salts, sulfonic acids, sulfonate salts, silanes, and combinations thereof.
17. An ultraviolet treatment method for a metal oxide electrode, the method comprising: providing a metal oxide electrode; supplying a humid environment; in the humid environment, exposing the metal oxide electrode surface to an ultraviolet (UV) light source; inducing hydroxylation of the metal oxide electrode surface; subsequent to exposing the metal oxide electrode to the IJV light source in the humid environment, treating the metal oxide electrode with a photosensitizer dye having at least one anchor group, where the anchor group is a chemical group capable of promoting communication between the photosensitizer dye and the metal oxide electrode; and, binding the photosensitizer dye to hydroxyl groups on a surface of the metal oxide electrode via the anchor group.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
November 14, 2011
July 14, 2015
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.